For a number of years, articles of footwear and various items of clothing have been sold with decorative arrays of light sources such as light emitting diodes (LEDs) and/or a loudspeaker capable of producing a sound. This has been particularly popular in children's shoes where the LEDs are arranged to complement other design elements of the shoe such as cartoon characters and the like.
In a typical design of a children's shoe of the type noted above, a module is placed in a cavity usually formed in the heel area of the shoe. The module contains a battery and typically an integrated circuit which is connected by wires to LEDs positioned along the outsole or upper of the shoe. The integrated circuit may also be capable of generating a signal which operates a loudspeaker, typically mounted in the upper or tongue of the shoe in the general area of the LEDs. Systems of this type are shown, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,525,487; 6,286,975; 6,012,822; 5,969,479; 5,894,201; 5,812,063 and others.
In addition to the use of LEDs and loudspeakers, efforts have been made to provide children's shoes that are more interesting and interactive for the wearer of the shoe. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,980,917 discloses a system in which sensors mounted to the outsole or upper of the shoe may be actuated to control the movement of a toy vehicle via RF signals transmitted from the shoe to a receiver in the vehicle. The shoe taught in U.S. Pat. No. 7,254,910 includes switches which are connected to an integrated circuit coupled to LEDs and/or a loudspeaker located on the upper or outsole of the shoe. In response to the application of a magnetic field from a permanent magnet located externally of the shoe, one or more of the switches are actuated, which, in turn, enables the integrated circuit to activate the LEDs or loudspeaker. U.S. Pat. No. 7,178,929 discloses a system wherein an RF transmitter housed in a band worn on the wrist of a child may be activated to send a signal to an RF receiver in the child's shoe. In response to receipt of the RF signal, an electrical circuit activates LEDs and/or loudspeakers in the shoe.